Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Penn (Semifinal)
Players Mentioned
Tiger Upset Bid Falls Just Short; Penn Advances To Howe Cup Final 6-3
February 27, 2016 | Women's Squash
The Tigers grabbed their wins in the bottom third of the lineup, and they came in different ways. Freshmen Samantha Chai and Isabel Hirshberg both outlasted their Quaker opponents for five-game thrillers, while senior Tara Harrington played one of the best matches of her career for a 3-0 win at the No. 8 spot.
Ultimately, though, Penn proved too strong at the top and middle of the lineup, and it will advance to face top-ranked Harvard for the national title. Though the team outcome had been decided, the match of the day ended up at the No. 1 spot, as Princeton sophomore Olivia Fiechter nearly knocked off Penn's Reeham Sedky before falling 11-5, 6-11, 9-11, 11-4, 12-10.
Princeton will play Trinity at 11:30 am Sunday; last weekend, the Tigers won a 5-4 thriller over the Bantams at the Jadwin Squash Courts.
TIGER THOUGHTS
Olivia Fiechter
Today was a tough loss but that being said, everyone on our team gave it their all and some actually played some of their best squash of the season. Tara, Sam and Izzy dominated their court and all delivered amazing performances, handling the high-pressure situation like pros. Penn has a very strong lineup top to bottom and after our 8-1 loss to them in the regular season, they were definitely the favored team but we really gave them a run for their money and made them earn every point they won, which should give us some extra confidence going into our match against Trinity tomorrow.
I had a pretty tough battle out there today with Reeham, who I've played too many times over the years to count. She plays at a faster pace than any other college player and runs down every single ball, so my goal was to not get sucked into her pace and stay patient and disciplined. While I'm pretty disappointed I wasn't able to convert my match ball in the 5th game, I think I played really well today in phases and can take away a lot from the match that I can hopefully use to my advantage in tomorrow's match!
Head coach Gail Ramsay
It was a hard-fought match today. I was impressed with the performance of the two freshman, Izzy Hirshberg and Sam Chai. Izzy won a very close match in the fifth game and she finished it in great control of the play once she figured out what she need to do. Sam played a senior with lots of experience and she really stuck to the game plan and adjusted along the way. It was great to see Tara Harrington play some of her best squash of her career. She won in straight games seemingly with easy. Liv dropped a tough match at number 1 however she played very well against a top player. It was her best performance of the year.
PENN 6, PRINCETON 3
1 - Reeham Sedky (Pe) d. Olivia Fiechter 5, (6), (9), 4, 10
2 - Anaka Alankamony (Pe) d. Maria Elena Ubina 8, 9, 6
3 - Yan Xin Tan (Pe) d. Rachel Leizman 3, 7, 7
4 - Marie Stephan (Pe) d. Lindsey Scott 2, 5, 5
5 - Michelle Wong (Pe) d. Alexandra Toth 8, 4, 4
6 - Rowaida Attia Walid (Pe) d. Kira Keating 6, 7, (7), 2
7 - Samantha Chai (Pr) d. Haidi Lala (5), 8, 7, (7), 7
8 - Tara Harrington (Pr) d. Camille Lanier 8, 7, 7
9 - Isabel Hirshberg (Pr) d. Grace Van Arkel (7), 8, (9), 7, 5